Petition of Robert Deanes, clothworker of London against against William Ivatt, Thomas Murthwait, William Bareblock & Arthur Loanes concerning the fire of London [manuscript] 1668.

[London], 1668.

1 item ; 30.4 x 19.8 cm

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Great Britain -- England -- London, -- production place.

272899 MS

From dealer's description: "25 [FIRE OF LONDON]. ROBERT DEANES CITIZEN AND CLOTHWORKER OF LONDON PET[ITION] AG[AINS]T WILLIAM IVATT, THOMAS MURTHWAIT, WILLIAM BAREBLOCK & ARTHUR LOANES. Att the Court of Indentures for determination of Differences touching houses Burned or demolished by reason of the latte fire which happened in London held in Cliffords Inn Hall on fryday the Eleventh day of December in the twentieth yeare of the reigne of our sovereigne Lord King Charles the second Anno Don 1668. [London], 1668. Folio [30.4 x 19.8 cm], pp. [8] with four pages containing the petition and the last page docketed ‘Copy of Mr Deanes his [?] fr Mr Loanes’ dust soiling and some minor splits on folds, but generally bright and legible. The petition arose from problems over the lease, under which the tenant, Robert Deanes, had entered into with William Ivatt, for a property situated in ‘a Court in Threadneedle street over ag[ins]t. Merchant Taylor Hall’. The building, which would have been sited in the small court that lay between the Merchant Tailors Hall and Threadneedle Street, was on the eastern edge of the area where the Great Fire of London halted. William Ivatt, the petition explains, was ‘beyond the seas’, furthermore ‘Thomas Murthwait & William Bareblock are persons intrusted by the said William Ivatt… for receipt of his rents and acting all other his affairs messuage and premisses… burned down by the Latte dredfull fire.’ To complicate matters still further it would appear that rents for the destroyed buildings were still being gather for Ivatt’s representatives although the buildings were mortgaged to another party, Arthur Loanes. From the time of the fire the petitioner Robert Deanes, despite losing his house and also apparently his livelihood, was still paying rent for the non existent building. Legally Deanes was required to rebuild the lost building but states in his petition that ‘having bin a very great sufferer by the said fire whereby he is not able to rebuild the s[ai]d messuage [and] was willing to surrender the same so that he might have some reasonable part of his fine restored unto him.’ In other words he wanted both a restitution of the rent he had paid since the fire, and also to escape the lease altogether. There was probably something of a stalemate between the trustees of the owner William Ivatt, Arthur Loanes who held the mortgage, and Robert Deanes who was liable for the rebuilding of the destroyed property. Robert Deanes probably had no other option than to have a petition drawn up so that this impasse could be decided in court. The Fire of London Disputes Act of 1666 enabled a Fire Court of 22 judges, which had sweeping powers to settle all differences arising between landlords and tenants of burnt buildings. The judges were drawn from the Kings Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer. A quorum of three judges constituted the Court, which sat in the Hall of Clifford Inn in Fetter Lane, which had escaped the fire. The judges had the power to cancel contracts, and to decide whether the landlord or the tenant should be responsible for rebuilding the property. Because of the urgency to settle competing claims the courts were provided free to petitioners. Robert Deanes had, like most of the houses in the City, entered into a full-repairing lease, which meant the tenants would be liable to pay rent even if the property was uninhabitable and also to rebuild the property. Thing were made even more expensive as the King had decreed that all the new buildings should be built in brick. This was a stipulation that was beyond the financial means of all but the richest tenants, and probably completely beyond the means of this ‘Citizen and Clothworker’. The three judges that sat to decide Deanes predicament were a high powered trio, Lord Chief Baron [Sir Matthew Hale (1609-1676)], Baron Turnor [Christopher Turnor (1607-1675)] and Mr Justice Archer [Sir John Archer (1598–1682)]. Coincidentally these three judges bore the chief weight of the court during the immediate aftermath of the fire. On the last page of the document is penned ‘the house was rebuilt by Arthur Loane in 1669 @ cost £430’. Robert Deanes appears to have been released from his lease for another annotation states ‘Mr James new[?] tenant after the ffire’."\ Ordered from Pickering and Chatto, D9712, 2024-02-21, Cat. 812, item #25.

272899